joining me now to discuss this visit are thomas blom hansen, director of stanford center for south asia. sunika is a reporter for "india west," a weekly newspaper. m.r. rankaswami, founder of a nonprofit working to improve u.s./indian relations. welcome to you all. your group is one of several hundred helps to organize the event at s.a.p. center. tell us why this visit is so important to members of your group? >> first of all, just a quick backdrop. thanks for having us here. we are now 3 million strong in the united states. 1% of the population. and the community's growing and maturing. and during this time frame we've not really had an opportunity to feel very proud of our country. i think for the past decade or so. i think when prime minister modi got elected, he brought the sense of excitement and pride in our community, and that's what you see reflected here as he's coming, the excitement is palpable. >> and quite a few indian-americans here participated in modi's election campaign. that takes an incredible level of commitment. what is it about modi that has people so excited? >> i